Formby's Circular Busses run by Ace will stop from THIS MONDAY.....

Photo: Alan Denson, of Ace Travel, when the company unveiled its new bus logo for charity Zoe's Place

UPDATE: This will mean that the Formby Circular Bus which is run by Ace, will no longer be running as from this Monday. Other transport companies are bidding through Emergency Tender to cover services but we do not know how long this will take.

Sixty jobs are being axed today after the tax man put Aintree bus firm Ace Travel out of business.

Ace, which was founded 10 years ago, provides around 20 routes for transport authority Merseytravel.

The firm admitted it had fallen behind with payments to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), covering a period of up to 18 months.

But it had started to bring down the bill, believed to be £220,000, in an agreement with HMRC’s office in James Street, Liverpool.

However, Ace said the case was then transferred to a tax office in Worthing which cancelled the previous agreement and demanded full payment.

Ace had managed to raise investment of £114,000 towards paying the tax bill and, after taking professional advice, had put forward a payment plan that it said would have cleared the bill by the end of this year.

But HMRC rejected the proposal and issued a winding-up order.

Ace director Alan Denson told the ECHO: “I can’t believe they have done this.

“We did fall behind with payments, fair enough, but we had a payment scheme in place and we would have paid it by the end of the year.

“I don’t care about myself, but it is the staff I am worried about.

“To have a settlement in place and the Revenue to knock it back is just sickening.

“I have tried everything and even phoned friends all over the country.”

Today is the final day that Ace will be able to provide routes for Merseytravel.

Mr Denson said the authority has put its routes out to other transport companies through an emergency tender in a bid to cover the services.

An HMRC spokesperson said: "HMRC does not in general comment on the tax affairs of individual businesses, but our aim is to efficiently collect the debts due and to prevent things deteriorating further.

“Anyone who anticipates payment problems should call us as early as possible as we have an outstanding track record for supporting those with genuine problems.

"We only initiate winding up action where we believe this is the best way to protect both the interests of other taxpayers and creditors."

A spokesperson for Merseytravel said: “We have been informed by Ace Travel (North West) Limited that they intend to put their company into liquidation from this Sunday.

“There will be some disruption over the next few days.

“Merseytravel is currently looking at options for the immediate future of the services and longer term.”

For help in finding alternative services visit the Merseytravel Journey Planner online at www.merseytravel.gov.uk or by downloading the app. Alternatively call Traveline on: 0151-236 7676.

Story and Photo Source: Liverpool Echo